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Foreword, May 18, 2017

“I would like to give a foreword to my album that releases at midnight (holy shit that’s real). I would like to thank the people that have been with me through this year and a half journey of musical productivity and musical insecurity. First, I would like to thank my mom and dad for dealing with my impatience and anxiety throughout this whole project (work and school included). I thank them for consoling me on most nights and letting me know that I do in fact have something special. Love them so much. Next, it’s mandatory that I thank my older BROTHERS (not my friends) Steve Ferri, Julian Sledge, and Chris Watts. I thank them for listening and always giving me insight along the way. I also thank them for the mini projects in between (cover art, videos, photos). Love y’all.

Thank you, Rich Fabrizio! Thank you for being more than an engineer and co-producing this project with me. Thank you for your recommendations on the tracks and making sure every track sounded A1. This project would not have been possible without you! Thank you to my band players (or the 327 Rhythm Section) Tom Bitondo, Brian Doherty, Tim Veeder, my bass player Marshall Toppo, and my trumpet player Freddie Maxwell. I’ve said before that it was a blessing to collaborate with players that know music more than I know my own self and that still holds true. Thank you to all of you guys!

Thank you to my older sister Dominique who did the backing vocals on my song ‘Smoke and Mirrors.’ Love you and even though you don’t have a Facebook/Instagram, I know you’re stalking me and reading this lol. Thank you to Larry Lachmann (whom I am pictured with), the mastering engineer of this project.

Thank you to the people/friends who listened to my very first song ‘Used to Be’ on soundcloud back in 2014 and continue to support me. As a shy/quiet, mysterious guy, you have no idea what it means to have people listening to your work and reacting, whether positively or negatively. Like I said in the past, I’m only pressing start and this album is the beginning of much more work (and ultimately anxiety) to come.

With all this said, as a music lover and not an artist, this album is perhaps the most musical album that I have heard in a while. I’m not going to review my own album (because that would be corny), but the music and production is the primary element to this story. Yes, this album is a story too (pretty much a two in one story deal). I’m a literature major, so I figured why not utilize all my skills, right? Besides that, I hope that you enjoy the album and share if you like (which would be greatly appreciated). Search ‘Jonny Parks – The Portia LP’ on your favorite music service, flip open the cover, and enjoy MY musical literature. Thank you all and of course there is STILL more to come. 🙏✌️”